HARMONY (a Doctor Who Novella)

Chapter 12

Jackie Tyler's assessment of the condition of his bedroom had not been in jest. The entire north-west corner of the historical manor house had sustained considerable damage. It would be encased in scaffolding for months. He entered the room cautiously, stepping lightly over the door which now lay flat on the floor, along with portions of the ceiling and much of what had been in the loft above--including a large wardrobe in which he had placed a number of items for safe keeping some years before. Well, he thought grimly, looking at the gaping hole in the plaster, it would save him the climb. Two flights of stairs had him nearly doubled over in pain as it was. Just getting to the house had been a chore, what with Lake Tyler floating away the patio furniture. He had carried Petunia so as to save her the swim. Jackie was going to be incensed about the ruined carpets on the ground floor.

The telescope he had kept out of guilt was no longer an issue as it lay broken to bits under the weight of the wardrobe. Along with just about everything else that had been on the bookcase in that corner of the room. Pages of notation on Trans-Space Thermodynamics--aproject he'd begun one night while bored--and fragments of his laser screwdriver prototype littered the floor Amy's search for clean, dry clothing earlier had apparently required the opening of every drawer in the room. He had left Scotland with nothing more than the clotheson his back last summer. Had arrived here with less after the fire in the Tardis. He made due. As much as he loved a little shop and the exotic bazaars on a hundred planets, he wasn't overly fond of 20th Century department stores. Unless it was the toy section.

Lowering himself painfully to his knees, he reached inside the open wardrobe, fingers scrabbling along the floor seam in back until he found the catch. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, all shiny and fresh-looking. It switched on at the merest touch and a short burst was all it took to spring the latch, revealing the hidden compartment beneath. A blue jacket and trousers, the ones he had donned the day he was born, were folded neatly within. He lifted them out gently, passing his hand over the fabric. He drew a deep breath at the memory of charging his old enemy, Davros, with a weapon he had assembled within minutes of consciousness, only to be struck down just paces outside the Tardis. He had constructed that weapon in no time flat. Had every intention of using it. It might as well have been a hundred years ago now.

He tossed the suit over his shoulder and reached back in for what he actually wanted. There. His hand closed around a Cybus Industry Earpod, a nasty little souvenir Pete Tyler had kept after the downfall of John Lumic. Following the Cybermen incident, Earpods had fallen out of favour, people once more turning to less invasive forms for accessing the WorldNet. Lucky for him, Pete had possessed the foresight to retain certain items of technology. Unknown to Pete, he had palmed it the very first day he had walked into Torchwood. He tossed the silver ear set up and down in his hand. It might just do and was more streamlined than adapting the Chameleon Arch. He didn't have the best memories of using that particular device anyway.

"The Doctor said you're probably going to do something foolish and I'm supposed to stop you."

He startled at Amy's appearance in the doorway, sliding the Earpod into his pocket as he clambered back to his feet. Petunia trailed after her, sniffing about the room before running off with one of his dirty socks.

"Sorry. We didn't mean to creep in on you--and I'm sorry about the mess. Well, the clothes everywhere. Half the ceiling was already on the floor when I came in." She was soaked from the relentless downpour, her dripping jacket hanging limp around her. "I see the builders patched the leaking roof at least."

He nodded, bending stiffly to pick up his discarded suit.

"Let me," Amy told him, stooping to grab it. "It was in there, yeah?"